What is better than going to Disney World? Going twice in one week! I know we are crazy but living so close with little non-school aged kids how can we not take advantage of this opportunity, even in August when it is sweltering!
Tuesday, first trip of the week we took Nana, what a Nana won't do to spend memorable time with her gran kids, spend the night and wake up at 5:30am (without a cup of coffee)! Getting the girls up this early is easy when they know where we are going. They are getting pretty good on the car ride and know they have to watch five Chip and Dale episodes to get there. I love being at the park for opening and getting on rides before it gets too crowded. This particular day we were rushing to get there for the 9:15am welcome show for Princess Elena (the new Latin Princess they introduced in early August). C has fallen in love with her (although Ariel is still her favorite but she wants to be Elena for Halloween) and when I told her she was there she got so excited, I think she was a little disappointed we didn't get to meet her, only watch her in the show. I'm hoping they have a meet and greet down the road.
We spent a few hours in the morning having our own fun (and finding towels since we were dripping in sweat!) and then met up with some friends from my mom's group for a few hours (we planned this day months ago). In all I think we were 19 and I loved to watch the looks on the cast members faces when we told them our party size (with so many little ones), we even got our own meet and greet with Mickey because we were so big! We rode a few rides, saw Mickey and had lunch with our friends. We were the only crazy ones to continue our day when they all left around 3pm to head home. If I drove all that way I was taking full advantage of the day!
We spent the rest of the afternoon eating Mickey bars (C had her first) and Dole Whips, meeting Princess, riding rides, and trying to stay cool. Even though the girls have now seen the Princesses (and Tink) a few times it is still magical to see their little faces light up at their sight and get so excited, C especially. The girls are also to the point now where they are requesting their FastPass and what they want to do (they are little travel agents), J didn't want to ride the carousel this day so C and I did.
We ate dinner at the Plaza restaurant, it's kind of a hidden gem at the end of Main Street. The food was better than the quick service counters and sitting in AC for over an hour was nice too! After dinner we headed up Main Street to get our spot for the Electrical Parade. Since they are ending it at the beginning of October we had to stay for it (the main reason we stayed late), there is just something about it being dark and all the lights lighting up Town Square. While I camped out on the sidewalk Nana killed time taking the girls to see Tink and to pick out their charm for their necklace.
While we waited the Disney photographers came around with a memento sign and took pictures to remember the magic, then the lights dimmed, the music started and the magic began. The girls screamed and wove their Dollar Store glow sticks as Tinkerbell lead the way. Twenty minutes of magical sights and unforgettable memories with my girls as they screamed in pure joy at every float and character that passed.
We had an exhausting but wonderful day! The girls fell asleep in the stroller on the boat and slept the entire way home (we got home about midnight). To top it off I didn't have to change one diaper, C peed on the potty all day like a big girl!
After traveling all week daddy took that Friday off from work and we decided to spend the day having fun as a family, where better to spend time. We didn't tell the girls, I sneakily packed our over night and park bags and told them that morning we had a surprise for them after lunch. They thought we were going to the aquarium or Menchies for ice cream. After we ate lunch daddy gave them their choice of what they wanted to do, of course once he said Disney World they went crazy! So we loaded the car and off we went for our first family trip in the minivan.
With how hot it was earlier in the week and since we got a hotel for the night we left after lunch, checked-in and got inside the park around 4pm when it was a little cooler. Mommy did her FastPass trick and in 3 hours we rode Peter Pan, the Carousel, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, The Little Mermaid and met Cinderella, Tiana (our first time meeting her), Rapunzel, Aurora and Belle (the girls got to be a plate and salt shaker in the little reenactment). We even managed to sneak in an ice cream treat somewhere along the way to cool us all off!
After we had some fun in the back of the park we headed to the front for dinner at Tony's. The girls love watching the Lady and the Tramp movie as we wait for our table. We had dinner (with a meltdown or two) and got the waitress to get me a boat load of Mickey sprinkles to take home. They are C's favorite and they do not sell them anywhere (they should, I'd pay top dollar for them) in the park, nor have I seen them at other restaurants. Our waitress was super nice and also gave us passes to watch the Electrical Parade from the VIP section, sweet! After dinner we walked over and got a prime spot right in front of the castle so that we could see the parade and fireworks. We usually sit on the circle by the exit for a fast escape but this night was different, we were staying to watch Wishes! I took the girls to see Tink and potty before we made our way back to their glow sticks and to get ready for the parade.
Just like Tuesday night when the announcer came on and the music started the girls went crazy with excitement! The parade is definitely one of my favorite things and I think theirs too, I really hope they bring in something soon at the Magic Kingdom to replace this. Where we were they could look to the left and see them coming out of the staging area, the parade then made it's way around the circle and passed right in front of us before turning to head down Main Street. I think they have both memorized the order in which it comes as they scream for the next character before we can see it!
Normally our night ends here and we make a mad dash for the exit, not this night, we were doing a first and staying for the fireworks! I ordered each of the girls a pair of hearing protectors to wear, I don't know why I hadn't thought of it sooner with J's "hypersensitive" ears and fear of fireworks/loud noises. J loves that hers (she calls them ear muffins) are pink and kept them on, C didn't and hers got returned when we got home (she had no issue with the noise). The lights dimmed again, the music came on and instead of hiding in the stroller under the canopy J stood there in amazement at the sight she was seeing. She thought it was so neat that some of the fireworks made shapes and of course she loved the ones that were pink the best! It's amazing how one thing can make a difference in an experience, I wish I would have gotten her a pair soon. I loved watching her face as she watched the fireworks and saw what she had been missing, it made my heart so happy! Next we are going to try Illuminations at Epcot with them!
We had a fun filled day and night and the girls were asleep before we got to the car. Since returning from our trips they are now playing Disney and
hotel at home and talk about making their FastPass. I love their
little imaginations and wish I could climb inside to see their wheels
turning.
Here are the pictures from the two days.
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